Doubt
by TheHomemadeDarkmark
Summary: Emma, Regina, Hook, Mary-Margret, and David are all on there way to save Henry from Neverland. Neal washed up on the shores of the Enchanted Forest and has been found by Aurora, Mulan, and Phillip. Henry is being taken to Neverland by Tamara and Greg, where he has been sought out for many years. Belle is left to guard Storybrooke with the spell Rumplestiltskin gave her to hide it.
1. Chapter 1

**Neal's POV**

****Neal groaned and opened his eyes. Everything was a blur. He remembered being shot, then Emma, something about Emma... What was it? His memory was fuzzy and he couldn't make out much in the images that ran through his mind, but he saw her crying, a swirl of green, those three words coming out of her mouth...

He shot up, then fell back again, the pain in his chest burning like fire. So sitting was not a good idea.

But he had to get up. He had to figure out where he was, what world, so then he could figure out a way to get back. Emma and Henry were still in Storybrooke. He needed to get to them. It all came flooding back in a rush.

It had been Tamara. All along, Tamara had been betraying him. And he hadn't believed Emma when she told him as much. They found her, working with Greg. And then he was shot. Tamara had opened a portal, hoping to lose the both of them in another land. Neal himself had fallen in. She had tried to hold him up, but he knew a lost cause when he saw one. She couldn't lift them both, especially with his dead weight from his injury. She had begged him not to. She had told him she loved him.

He remembered the look in her eyes, the heartbreak. He pushed away any fear of looking into that pain and stared right into her eyes, locking with them for just a moment. "I love you, too." Then he let go.

Everything after that was black.

He tried again to sit up, this time slower. He managed to get himself into a half-way upright position, then took in his surroundings.

He was in a forest, under a tent. A fire crackled a few feet away. He looked down and examined himself. He was bare-chested, the gunshot wound in his chest covered up with bandages. Someone had been taking care of him.

Neal took a deep breath, then paused. The smell in the air, why was it so familiar? He took another deep breath and it clicked. It was the smell of magic. Magic, mixed with certain smells that only came with one land. The scents of flowers and herbs that were exclusive to one place: The Enchanted Forest.

Neal looked around at the place he had once called home. The woods he was in was not one had had ever been familiar with, though after all these years it was doubtful that any of his old hideouts would look the same anyway. Somehow, however, despite all the years, he recognized his home with nothing but a deep breath.

He heard footsteps and voices to his right and tensed up. He watched the area they came from as three people stepped through.

The first was a woman. She had black hair tied back, Asian-looking armor on her body. A wicked-looking sword sat strapped to her hip.

The second was another woman with brown hair and a pretty face. He clear, blue eyes sparkeled with kindness, the train of her dress dragged on the ground.

The third was a man. He wore traditional chainmail armor and had dark brown hair. He had his arm linked through that of the second woman.

Upon seeing Neal was awake, the dark-haired woman unsheathed her sword and pointed it at him. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"

He looked at the sword then at her. "What's the point in saving me if you're going to kill me anyways?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Answer the question."

He sighed. "Neal Cassady. I fell through a portal from another world."

The other woman touched her shoulder. "Mulan, that sounds a lot like what happened to-"

"I know," she said, cutting off her companion. Neal smiled.

"Mulan? Well, who might you two be?" he asked, nodding towards the other two. He wondered if they were popular public domain stories back in the other world as well.

The woman stepped forward. "My name is Aurora. This is Phillip. And, just so you know, Mulan does not mean to be rude, she is just being cautious."

His smiled continued. "No problem. What was that you were saying before about others?"

Aurora looked to her companions for permission. Phillip nodded, encouraging her.

She turned back to Neal. "Not so long ago, two others fell through a portal into this world. They were originally from here, and they wanted to return home, so we helped them."

"Yeah, yeah, but what were their names?" he asked, eager to learn who had been here before him.

She looked taken aback. "Snow White and Emma, her daughter."

Neal's eyebrows rose. "Well, well, well, Emma, we have some stories to exchange," he muttered to himself.

Mulan looked startled. "You know them?"

"Of course," he said. "I knew Emma about eleven years ago, and we had a reunion recently." His face saddened. Thinking about Emma reinforced his thoughts about finding a way of returning to Storybrooke. "About that, actually. I need to get back. Emma needs me. She probably thinks I'm dead. And who knows about Henry." His saddness renewed at the thought of his eleven-year-old son who had just lost his father. It seemed to be a trend in their family, one Neal was hoping to break.

Aurora looked at Phillip, then Mulan, then back to Neal. "Any ideas?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Emma's POV**

Emma grasped the railing, her knuckles turning white. The entire ship lurched and shook as it plunged into the swirling green mass of the portal. She couldn't help but worry that the ship would capsize, but had no choice at this point.

She closed her eyes. The ship tilted violently forward, then stopped. She opened her eyes again.

The landscape around her had changed completely. Where they had been just off the docks of Storybrooke, now they were in the middle of the ocean, no land anywhere to be seen, save for a tiny blot in the distance.

"Why are we so far away?" she asked Hook.

He turned to her. "You ask me as if I had any choice in the matter. Besides, I'm fine with this. I'd rather not get too close to that place just yet. If ever."

Emma's eyebrows furrowed. "But it's Neverland. I mean, isn't it supposed to be a happy place with faries and kids who never grow up?"

Hook snorted. "Well, I don't know what stories you've heard, but they're dead wrong. It is true, children don't grow up here. But it isn't as if they have a choice. They are taken in the night by a shadow, a creature that does the bidding of the leader, Peter Pan."

Emma's face fell. "And they took Henry here?" she asked. He nodded. He looked as if he would say more, but was cut off by David.

"Hook! Come here, we need your help!" Hook gave Emma one last look that almost seemed apologetic, then left.

Mary-Margaret came up behind Emma and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump. She gave her daughter a smile. "It'll all be okay. We'll save him."

Emma sighed. "I know," she said. "I'm just scared. What are they going to do to him?"

Mary-Margaret just kept smiling reassuringly, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Henry will be fine. He knows right from wrong and how to keep himself save. He's a lot like you in that way."

"Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of," Emma said, thinking of how she also had a knack for rebelling and getting herself into bad situations, a trait Henry also seemed to pick up.

**Henry's POV**

Henry looked around once the green light of the portal faded. He tried again to wrestle his arm from Greg, but to no avail. Besides, it was usless now anyway. Even if he did escape, he'd be stranded in a strange world alone, with nowhere to go. His best chance was to stay with Tamara and Greg.

He examined the land around him. He was on a beach. The ocean spread out for miles around them and inland there seemed to be nothing but trees and a large mountain right in the middle. Greg pulled his arm and began leading him to the forest. Henry dug his heels into the sand.

"Where are we?" he demanded.

Tamara sighed. "Listen, kid. We don't want to hurt you. We don't mean any harm to you. We have his word on that, too."

"Who's word?" Henry asked, confused.

"The ma- um, I mean, _person_ we're working for," Greg said. Henry noticed his stumble. Almost like he _couldn't _call this person a man, like he feared doing so. But it was definitely a guy. The pieces began to click in Henry's mind.

"Why'd you want to take me here?"

"Because," Greg continued, "he wants you. Like Tamara said, he's promised he won't hurt you."

Henry's eyes narrowed. "Why would you care if I'm hurt? You just tried to kill my entire family, and all of my friends!"

Tamara shook her head. "That was because of the magic. You're not guilty of any. The last thing we want is for an innocent kid to get hurt."

"Now are you coming or not?" Greg demanded. Henry was liking him less and less. Tamara wouldn't be as bad, had she not kidnapped him, killed his dad, and tried to kill everyone he loved. At least she wasn't as harsh around him.

Henry followed, looking around him. He had finally deduced where he was. The same way he had deduced who many of the fairy tale characters were back in Storybrooke, before the curse was broken.

Neverland.


End file.
